Spiritual Istanbul — Christianity, Islam & Jewish Heritage

Depart from the hotel to visit the most beautiful and splendid of all the imperial mosques in Istanbul: Süleymaniye, the mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent. Built between 1550 and 1557 by Sinan, the greatest of all Ottoman architects, Süleymaniye was conceived with the ambition to surpass the builders of St. Sophia. Like other works of that time it is not only a mosque but a huge complex — an edifice that typifies the Ottoman Empire at its peak. Its magnificence prevails in the interior too: the fine portal gates, the carved marble mihrab and mimber, the carpets, chandeliers and bronze candlesticks.

Continue to the Kariye Museum. Kariye is the Turkish adaptation of the ancient Greek word chora, referring to countryside. The church was built in the 4th century during the Byzantine days, then outside the city walls. First converted into a mosque in the 16th century, it was finally made a museum in 1948, leaving no Islamic element in the building except the minaret. The walls are decorated with superb 14th century frescoes and mosaics on a gold ground.

Located in the Karaköy district, the Jewish Museum of Turkey — officially the Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews — is a cultural centre established to inform society of the traditions and history of Turkish Jewry. It was inaugurated on 25 November 2001. The Quincentennial Foundation was established in 1989 by 113 Turkish citizens, Jews and Muslims alike, to celebrate the five hundredth anniversary of the Sephardim's arrival in the Ottoman Empire. The museum includes sections on the intermingling cultures of Jewish and Muslim Turks, ethnographic articles depicting the traditions of Turkish Jews, and the historical account of the Jewish odyssey from Spain to Türkiye.